Porsche Targets Ferrari Buyers With New Model

A while ago, in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt, Porsche CEO Matthias Müller has confirmed that the company indeed has plans to build a new supercar to be placed between the 911 and the 918. He said that “there would be room for a mid-engine sports car above the 911.” Such a model “in a price segment of 400,000 euros” has good chances of being built, he adds. It’s obvious that would make it a direct replacement for the Carrera GT supercar, which cost £320,000 in 2004. Now the head honcho is making it even more official with an official confirmation of the new model ready to tackle the competition; here’s looking at you, Ferrari 458 Italia.

The Porsche CEO, Matthias Müller stated: “It always irritated me that the (most expensive) 911 tops out at 250,000 euros ($360,000) and then the 918 continues starting at 750,000 euros ($1,080,000). In between, Ferrari cavorts around relatively comfortably and without any competition. That is where we need to be. There is still space for a larger sports car, one like the 959 that we built in the 1980s.”

Being the eighth model in Porsche’s future line-up, the new model will be priced between 250,000 euros ($360,000) and 400,000 euros ($580,000). It will help seal the deal in Porsche’s attempt to boost annual global sales to more than 200,000 units by 2018. The new porsche’s supercar will join the current four models as well as the upcoming small mid-engine roadster patterned on the 550 Spyder, the smaller SUV dubbed the Cajun, and a smaller version of the Panamera GT.

Note: The image above is a rendering of what TopSpeed think this new supercar will be, the 2013 Porsche 961.